Parental Controls

From MythTV

This is a wish list for a series of changes to achieve a simple goal: to prevent children from viewing unsuitable content.

It's a starting point, so please edit this page to add more detail and to make your requirements known. Ultimately, this page will be used to create a set of technical specifications for a developer to follow.

In no particular order:

• A multi level rating system so that young children, older children, and teenagers can all use the system without (excessive) adult intervention.

• I suggest going "all the way" with a ClearPlay clone for content filtering, not just identification.

• This would entail allowing the MythTV user to create an EDL (Edit Decision List) that includes, for each start-end frame pair, the type of content, the 'level' of that content (on a scale of say 1-5), the stream it applies to, and a corrective action. So, for example, I could create an EDL entry that says "frame 12931-12973, profanity, 3, audio, mute". This would mean that from frame 12931 to frame 12973 there is profanity at level 3 on the audio stream (you could indicate which audio stream if you have multiple languages, etc.) and the suggested action is to mute the audio. The possible corrective actions include either mute the offensive stream (audio or video) or skip the frames entirely (e.g. profanity on the audio stream with a close-up of the actor's face which makes it obvious what is being said even if you mute the audio).

• Each user would then create a filtering profile that would specify which levels of which content they are willing to see. From a parent perspective, these could be 'locked' so that little Johnny can't change his own profile. Users could also override the default corrective action (i.e. only mute the stream, never skip frames) suggested in the EDL file through a profile setting.

• As an add-on, I suggest being able to (automatically) 'share' these with the MythTV community. This might not be very useful for recorded content (there are timing issues with when the recording started, commercials, identification, etc.). However, for pre-recorded content (DVD, CD, etc.) this would be a great feature and would allow anyone with a MythTV system to view the content filtered at their level. There should be no legal entanglements since you are not sharing the content itself, just a list of which frames contain which types of (potentially) offensive content and at what levels.

• For this to work, we would need a set of standard categories (profanity, nudity, drug use, violence, etc.). We also need some very specific 'rules' for what each level means in each category (e.g. 'this' list of words means level 1 in profanity, while 'this' list means level 2, etc.), possibly with example clips. This would keep everyone 'on the same page' as far as what each category is and what each level is. The system should allow 'free form' markup in addition to the 'standard' categories. In other words, I should be able to create a new category and mark that as well as the default ones. This would allow me to filter things on my own terms (i.e. religious content, etc.) in addition to filtering on the default set of things.

• This type of system does not preclude creating a set of pre-defined filter settings and calling them "PG, PG-13, TV-G," etc. as is suggested below. This would allow a user to set the system to "PG" and then (possibly) make some minor alterations.

• Use a simple and familiar rating system. The ratings put forward by TV Parental Guidelines are used in the US-based V-chip system. Also familiar are the MPAA (movie) ratings: U, G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17.

• To be able to easily change the rating of a recorded show or series. Individual shows in a series may require different ratings.

• To be able to easily change the rating of a scheduled show or series.

• To be able to automatically set a rating:

1. by time. e.g. all shows after the "watershed" at 9pm and before 6am.
2. by channel. e.g. all shows on "Men and Motors"
3. by show classification. e.g. all "Documentaries".
4. by a mixture of the above. e.g. all "Documentaries" on BBC2 at any time.

• To be able to utilise ratings from the programme guide: xmltv, OTA (over the air) or broadcast EPG data, where available. The xmltv script for each country/guide will need to re-map the rating data where there are differences.

• To use a simple and fast unlocking method to enable viewing of shows. e.g. Enter your PIN. PIN are generally understood and are fast to key in via a remote.

• A simple way to filter the recorded shows so only accessible shows are listed. And a simple way to remove the filter. Perhaps a PIN has to be keyed when entering the Recorded Shows listing. If no valid PIN is keyed, only show the lowest and unrated shows.

• A way of limiting viewing time. e.g. Children only allowed to see 2 hours of Live TV or recorded shows per day. Need to enter the PIN to override setting.

• MythVideo (plugin) has basic parental controls already. There are 4 levels, 1 is the lowest, 4 the highest. Each video has a level manually assigned. Only level 1 videos are listed in the frontend. Two buttons on the remote are utilised to increase and decrease the level. Each time the level is increased, a PIN has to be entered. There is only one PIN.

• The system should automatically return to the lowest level after some time of inactivity (e.g. two hours).

• Perhaps use a similar system for LiveTV and recorded shows. Only the lowest rated shows are shown in the recorded show list. The current level (e.g. PG) is shown on the screen. The remote is used to increase the level (e.g. from PG to PG-13) and a PIN is required. The user enters their PIN (the one they know) and more shows are revealed. (Problem: What if the level is left at a high rating and a child gains control over the remote? Should there be a timeout where the system returns to a lower level automatically after a certain number of minutes?)

• To view a log of viewed programs. Just a simple scrollable listing going back in time, showing date + time + rating level.

• A simple channel lock. e.g. Sit your child down in front of CBBC, and lock it to that channel. Would need a PIN to change channel or exit to the menu.

• Use these "Parental Control" features on more than just the MythVideo plugin. All content would benefit from these controls providing the ability to have "Adult Content" in the form of audio, video, DVD, etc...

--Acope 12:48, 21 April 2006 (UTC)